“Grounding Ceremony” is a series of video and photography that documents the ceremonial release of my hair. The video begins as I prepare for the ceremony by digging a hole into the Earth. I ultimately enter that hole, where I cut each of my locs one by one. Each loc of hair represents another level of release and cleansing, until all of my locs have been cut, marking the full release of the past stories those locs held. During this rite-of-passage I read vows I wrote to myself as I cut each loc , concluding with my cut locs surrounding me, appearing like wings.
This photo documents the first person perspective of this rite-of-passage ceremony. My hair is pictured surrounding me in this photo.
This video documents a very vulnerable moment of release and spiritual grounding. With the release of my hair, so many other things were also shed from my life.